Most aircraft design and repair has historically been based on two-dimensional drawings. However, in recent years, three-dimensional (3D) model based definition (MBD) has become more prevalent in aircraft design. In many 3D MBD programs, computer-aided design (CAD) terminals or lightweight 3D viewer terminals are installed in the factory at each workstation. While working on and/or inspecting an airplane component or structure, a mechanic or inspector must walk from the airplane to reference the CAD data on fixed workstations. Once at the terminal, the mechanic or inspector must pan, zoom, and/or rotate a displayed 3D model with software commands via a keyboard or mouse to view various areas of interest. Besides the CAD data, the mechanics must also reference multiple process specification documents, often stored in PDF documents. This typically requires manual lookup of critical information for assembly, inspection, or maintenance operations. This process of walking back and forth from the work site, adjusting 3D model views, and looking up and/or cross-referencing multiple documents is inefficient and may be error-prone, since the mechanic or inspector must remember what was just viewed at the fixed workstation once he or she returns to the work site.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved system and method for viewing information about aircraft manufacture and repair that overcomes the limitations of the prior art.